March Single-Family Permit Numbers up in Hamilton County

The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis (BAGI) announced that in the Greater Indianapolis Nine-County area, Single-Family Building Permits increased by 18% last month with 723 permits compared to 614 in March 2017.
After last year’s 7% increase over 2016, industry experts predicted that 2018 would be another consistent year for new home construction growth, anticipating another 5-10% jump over 2017. However, this Q1 marks a 30% rise over 2017 thus far.
“This Q1 has surpassed our expectations,” states Steve Lains, CEO of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis. “As the market demand continues to surpass the existing inventory of finished and for sale new homes, the surge in new home starts is likely due to the anticipation of what are historically considered the strongest selling seasons of spring and summer.”
“Although this 1st quarter increase was higher than predicted, we are not yet changing our forecasted cumulative growth of 5-10% for the year,” continues Lains. “The consensus is that the surge in permits early in the year will be offset by a normalization of volume as the year progresses, like the pattern we saw in 2017. Limiting factors to sustain this increase in permits throughout the year include lack of available labor, material price increases, and land available to rezone at price points below $250,000, the largest consumer market segment in the metro area.”
Lains concludes that, “BAGI will continue to monitor permits and consider adjusting our forecast for 2018 if the level of 1st quarter permit increases continue through the 2nd quarter.”
In the Greater Indianapolis Nine-County region, the permits issued in March 2018 have created a total economic impact of $304,084,298 in local income, $69,032,170 in local taxes, and 5,148 local jobs (see chart below).

The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis is a professional trade association representing residential homebuilders, associates and remodelers. For more information, call 317-236-6330; or visit www.BAGI.com for permits numbers from 2000-2018.